Have you ever wondered how some graduates manage to get top scores on aptitude tests? They must be extremely intelligent and talented people, right? Well, not exactly. Studies have shown that some otherwise extremely ‘brainy’ people could get very low scores on aptitude tests due to a lack of speed, focus or confidence. The reason is two-fold. First, different categories of aptitude tests are designed to test different innate abilities (called aptitudes) such as numerical reasoning, abstract thinking and verbal reasoning. Some who do very well on numerical tests may easily fail the verbal test. In fact, extremely talented people tend to be one-sided so while they may get 100% on one type of aptitude test, they will likely get a very low score or even fail another one.

Second, the aptitude tests that employers (or recruiters) use assess at least two of your innate abilities – and you must meet their benchmarks on both tests. These abilities almost always contradict each other. For example, numerical reasoning ability is quite different from verbal reasoning ability. This implies that the recruiters are not looking for Einsteins (by the way Einstein was far behind his peers in his verbal ability as a child) but just average people who can perform well on the job. Besides, it is quite unusual for a first-time test taker to get top scores on BOTH. Unless … well, unless you know the tricks AND you are not a freakin’ genius because if you were, it would be harder for you to follow these tricks and you would not need the bloody job anyway.

Having conducted some extensive research, below we have summarised our findings. The following are the key techniques used by top aptitude test scorers.

1. FOCUS ON DATA CONTEXT

Learn about the exact types of aptitude test questions you may get on a real test. Discover new ways to solve them. This does not mean you are cheating because you are not preparing the answers for real test questions BUT you are learning about question types, data format (data tables, pie charts, etc) to be able to anticipate what cords you will have to cut. Put it in another way, if you were a starting brain surgeon, you would need know to exactly how the contents of the brain look like before you even are allowed to the operation room. This is what it is all about.

2. LEARN NEW WAYS TO SAVE TIME

Learn about the key shortcut techniques to solve nearly half of the test problems in 15-30 seconds – in order to save time. Imagine you are driving from one city to get to another. How helpful would it be if you knew the shortcuts to get there also avoiding traffic jams and possible road repair situations? You could get there faster, with less stress and with more time to enjoy the scenery. Learning the shortcuts to solve test problems does NOT MEAN you will have to be able to answer each question in 15 seconds. Shortcuts may not exist for some test questions. What you need to learn is how you can get 5 questions out of the way quickly so this adds up to 3-4 minutes of extra time. Then you will be working with less anxiety and more confidence through the rest of aptitude test problems.

3. AUTOMATE YOUR TEST SKILLS

Begin to apply your learned techniques in practice tests and anticipate and differentiate various test problems. Unfortunately, this one comes with practice. One erroneous assumption people make is that practice time long time, that it develops over months and years. According to NLP practitioners and reputable psychologists, it is practically possible to achieve automation in a matter of days and even hours. For example, you could improve your speed reading skills in days. You could learn how to throw a basketball into the net accurately in hours. Aptitude tests are not much different. Of course, your results will get better in 1 month than in 1 day, however, you can still improve a lot in several days enough to make a difference on the test day.

4. INCREASE YOUR CONFIDENCE

Learn to feel like a test champion each time you do a test. Have you ever watched boxing fights of a legendary former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson? He would say, “Fear is my friend, I use the fear to reflect it upon my opponent. If I don’t have fear, I don’t fight”. Most novice test takers are really scared before the test. Emotions could interfere with your ability to think straight during the test, however, there is no way to become emotion-free. What you can do, however, is to imagine that recruiters too are scared that you will destroy their testing scheme by a getting a Knock-Out score in half the time allocated for the test thereby leaving them shocked. Learn to feel like a champion like Mike Tyson in his prime and you will have a chance to knock-out the test in the first round.

Further to the above I have made a compilation of materials that can be helpful for preparation which can be accessed at the following site:
www.dropbox.com using the following details:

user: raonanuga

Pass: nairaland

On access you would see 15 video tutorials on Shl numerical tests, they give useful insights on short-cut methods of solving questions to save precious time.

Also an archive of relevant pdf materials, which requires winrar software to unpack.

I highly recommend www.graduatemonkey.com for people who want access to premium TEST Preparation with mock tests similar to the real test i used it myself.

I wish u all success.

achmed1.

This is great, God bless you. Are there shortcuts for verbal reasoning too?

Nigerians always looking for shortcuts to everything.

Seriously there is a short cut tip on answering SHL verbal questions.

I realized something during one of my verification tests.

During my verbal I began by reading the passages carefully but I realized that while I was busy studying the passage my fellow test takers were clicking away at other questions, then I knew I had to do something differently.

I discovered I didn't need to read the whole passage before answering the questions correctly. All I needed to do was read the question first , pick key words in the statement and then scan the passage for the sentence containing the key words, read the sentence and the ones before and after to gain some understanding. I discovered this was enough to answer the question correctly.

I completed the test with about 1min to spare.

nice one bro...

Although this mostly applies to long passages.

Well done @ achmed1
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/42ljhn5vfedg7u2/AAAjRJRwjSt1YixewTx2Rkkda?dl=0

profneyo: Well done @ achmed1
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/42ljhn5vfedg7u2/AAAjRJRwjSt1YixewTx2Rkkda?dl=0

I see your handwork oo.

i used dropbox to prevent people from flooding the place with emails.

achmed1: i used dropbox to prevent people from flooding the place with emails.

Nyc 1

It has begun..

Bro I have serious issue with d verbal session..how can I increase accuracy and save time..plz help!

Thanks alot OP.I've had difficulties downloading three rar files in the drop box you provided.Pls what do i do.Thanks alot

profneyo:
Well done @ achmed1
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/42ljhn5vfedg7u2/AAAjRJRwjSt1YixewTx2Rkkda?dl=0

Thanks!

achmed1:
Further to the above I have made a compilation of materials that can be helpful for preparation which can be accessed at the following site:
www.dropbox.com using the following details:

user: raonanuga

Pass: nairaland

On access you would see 15 video tutorials on Shl numerical tests, they give useful insights on short-cut methods of solving questions to save precious time.

Also an archive of relevant pdf materials, which requires winrar software to unpack.

I highly recommend www.graduatemonkey.com for people who want access to premium TEST Preparation with mock tests similar to the real test i used it myself.

I wish u all success.

achmed1.

thanks so much and God bless bro, if the page prompt for email in place of username, its raonanuga@gmail.com

telad:


thanks so much and God bless bro, if the page prompt for email in place of username, its raonanuga@gmail.com

Yeah

achmed1:
Have you ever wondered how some graduates manage to get top scores on aptitude tests? They must be extremely intelligent and talented people, right? Well, not exactly. Studies have shown that some otherwise extremely ‘brainy’ people could get very low scores on aptitude tests due to a lack of speed, focus or confidence. The reason is two-fold. First, different categories of aptitude tests are designed to test different innate abilities (called aptitudes) such as numerical reasoning, abstract thinking and verbal reasoning. Some who do very well on numerical tests may easily fail the verbal test. In fact, extremely talented people tend to be one-sided so while they may get 100% on one type of aptitude test, they will likely get a very low score or even fail another one.

Second, the aptitude tests that employers (or recruiters) use assess at least two of your innate abilities – and you must meet their benchmarks on both tests. These abilities almost always contradict each other. For example, numerical reasoning ability is quite different from verbal reasoning ability. This implies that the recruiters are not looking for Einsteins (by the way Einstein was far behind his peers in his verbal ability as a child) but just average people who can perform well on the job. Besides, it is quite unusual for a first-time test taker to get top scores on BOTH. Unless … well, unless you know the tricks AND you are not a freakin’ genius because if you were, it would be harder for you to follow these tricks and you would not need the bloody job anyway.

the documents are asking for a password for decryption

please do you know the password for barons pdf books thanks\

keep the goodwork

aliACCA:
keep the goodwork

Who are u/ what do you want to discuss with me?

achmed1:
Who are u/ what do you want to discuss with me?

got interview with pwc... any advice

Hello please can you just send your resources to fiestyufo@gmail.com. I tried using your drop box details it didn't work

telad:


thanks so much and God bless bro, if the page prompt for email in place of username, its raonanuga@gmail.com

Bro the username and password is not working

[quote author=Mbachuzara post=53076374]
Bro the username and password is not working[/quote hi

Please I need a personal tutor on SHL test, contact me if you specialize in this kind of thing. Call me so as to discuss the venue and amount 08075145269. Thanks

PwC Job Test Past Questions and Answers, Sample interview (last stage) questions and answers are available for download at the Job section of Q and A App. Download https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tolu.qanda

achmed1:
I realized something during one of my verification tests.

During my verbal I began by reading the passages carefully but I realized that while I was busy studying the passage my fellow test takers were clicking away at other questions, then I knew I had to do something differently.

I discovered I didn't need to read the whole passage before answering the questions correctly. All I needed to do was read the question first , pick key words in the statement and then scan the passage for the sentence containing the key words, read the sentence and the ones before and after to gain some understanding. I discovered this was enough to answer the question correctly.

I completed the test with about 1min to spare.

I don't know if you still use this moniker, but one thing is sure, you will live long of this impact your posts have on me.

Good morning everyone. Last week Friday I received an email from PWC to being shortlisted and the test is supposed to run from today , 7th to 10th. But, I am yet to receive any email from the CEB/SHL. Though on the email, the time and duration of the test was not specified. Should I still wait? Kinda anxious… WhatsApp number 08171553850

How I got into PwC – Job Test, Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) and Interviews

I am writing this piece to inform and guide individuals who are trying to get into PwC. Here is my story:

Not having an Accounting/finance background, I initially thought getting into the big 4 was beyond my reach, irrespective of the fact that it was clearly stated as a criteria that anyone from any course of study is eligible to apply. I saw those getting into these firms as super humans and not in my league. So in my first attempt at PwC, the self-belief was lacking and I wrote the test with self doubt and unsurprisingly I didn't scale through. I later realised that a friend of mine, without an accounting background or prior experience, in the same circumstance as i am scaled through. Then it dawned on me that it was actually possible to get into PwC if my mindset was right.

In my second attempt, I got in. What did I do differently?

The recruitment processes are in 3 stages and usually last for between 5 - 6 months:

1. Proctored Online test (SHL) (the timeline to take the test is usually around 4-5 days and feedback is received 1-2 weeks later)

2. OPQ (Occupational personality questionnaire) (timeline to take the test is around 3-4 days and feedback is received about 2 weeks later)

3. Interview (this spans for about 1 month and feedback is received between 2 weeks to 1 month from the last date of interview)

The aptitude tests are of 2 sections, verbal and numerical and how I was able to navigate through that hurdle was to constantly practice the past questions materials in order to familiarize myself with the question styles and techniques. I made sure I covered the past questions from front to back (The materials I studied with are available at the Job test section of Q and A App, Install the App on Playstore

I also joined WhatsApp study groups where we thrashed out difficult questions too. That really helped put me in great shape for the test.

For the second stage (OPQ), its all about your personality/traits and whether or not, it aligns with that of the firm as well as the Business unit you apply for. How i was able to navigate that was that i combed their websites to know more about the firm, their values, mission and vision. I also reached out to people already working in the firm (especially via LinkedIn) in order to gain more insights about the company, the values and attributes they hold dear. These really helped and it enabled me align my responses to the values of the firm. Consistency in your response also is very important because a question could come in different forms and you have to be consistent with your responses.

For the last stage (interview): When I got to the interview stage.........

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE JOB TEST SECTION OF Q AND A APP.

Install the App from Playstore
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tolu.qanda